'A ball of fire' destroys Fitchburg store

Wednesday

Feb 6, 2013 at 6:00 AMFeb 6, 2013 at 1:15 PM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The retail auto parts business of John L. Tate and his wife, Nancy J. Tate, was destroyed in an explosion Tuesday night, but friends and neighbors are calling it a miracle that Mr. Tate and a customer walked out of the building virtually unscathed from the blast.

The explosion, which the state fire marshal's office said this morning was caused by a gas leak, shook homes and businesses in the densely populated area; blasted out windows, displacing a couple in one home; and spider-webbed the windows of businesses along Lunenburg Street.

The blast occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Witnesses said it shook their homes and they could see a “ball of fire” coming from the ground where the office of Victory Auto Parts, 214 Lunenburg St., once stood.

Police Chief Robert DeMoura said the building housing Victory Auto does not have natural gas service, but investigators are looking at a possible leak in the nearby pipes in the street and suspect natural gas may have leaked into the building and caused the explosion and fire.

Neighbors said it is unbelievable — a miracle — that Mr. Tate and a customer walked out without injury.

“There was just a big bang — that was it,” Mr. Tate said, standing wrapped in a white blanket in the street as firefighters worked through the large amount of debris and Unitil crews worked to shut down gas lines.

His wife, who was at home preparing dinner at the time, said she was in and out of shock and emotional distress — partly over the loss of the family business and partly over the thought of how close she was to losing her husband.

For about five minutes, she said, she had no idea if he was alive.

“My boss called me and said he heard on the news there was an explosion at Victory Auto,” she said. “I started crying. I had no idea if John was OK.”

While she was en route to the business, which the family has run for 17 years, Mr. Tate called her.

“When I got here it was horrible,” she said, crying while standing in the frigid air with only shorts on. “People from the ambulance brought me over to him.”

When the Tates bought the business, it was hooked up to gas, the couple said, but they converted it to oil.

“It was a gas leak and we don't even have gas,” she said.

Randy S. Chesbrough is a tow-truck operator at Aldrich Auto Body across the street, which also had some damage. He said he was out back with a co-worker when he felt the explosion. They heard over the scanner that there was a ball of fire coming from the area, he said.

“We saw a puff of fire over the building,” he said. “It shook our building. The percussion was very loud.”

He said he ran out front of Aldrich Auto to see if the blast came from one of the more-than-a-dozen gas-filled tankers at Performance Transportation next door to Victory Auto.

“The building (Victory Auto) was on fire and someone was walking out of the front door of it,” Mr. Chesbrough said. He said he was relieved when he realized it was Mr. Tate, but was still worried about the nearby tankers so he returned to the back of the building.

Neighbors Debra T. and Andy K. Rossner of 12 Jerry St., around the corner from the auto parts store, said they also felt the explosion.

“I thought my home was blowing up — the whole house was shaking,” Mrs. Rossner said. “I ran outdoors and came over here and it was horrendous. We were worried about John. If he was in his office, he would not still be with us.”

The couple said they were concerned about the infrastructure for gas service in the area because there was a gas leak on Jerry Street in the summer and they had received a letter from Unitil dated Jan. 31 informing them of the company's plans to replace gas lines and mains to area homes. The work was to begin April 1.

“It scares everyone in the neighborhood because you don't know how safe they are,” Mr. Rossner said. “How safe are we now? They tried saying the leak over the summer was a small leak, but a leak's a leak. They'll probably try to say this one wasn't a big deal. Tell that to John whose business is gone.”

Alec S. O'Meara, spokesman for Unitil, said Lunenburg Street was not part of the upgrade project in the letter sent to the Rossners and others in the neighborhood. The project includes Boutelle, Jerry and Jackson streets, he said, but did not say if or when upgrades to the lines would occur on Lunenburg Street.

“We're working to ensure public safety,” Mr. O'Meara said. “We've isolated the main and turned off gas to the area and we are conducting leak surveys along Lunenburg Street.”